Odd ailment has hurt Mauer's standing with Twins fans

Sunday

Jul 31, 2011 at 12:01 AMJul 31, 2011 at 10:21 AM

MINNEAPOLIS - The limestone that covers the outer walls of Target Field is said to be 450 million years old. It was quarried in Mankato, Minn., and gives the park a warm kind of glow, not only from the outside but also from the dugout roofs, the backstop and the corner walls, near the foul poles.

MINNEAPOLIS — The limestone that covers the outer walls of Target Field is said to be 450 million years old. It was quarried in Mankato, Minn., and gives the park a warm kind of glow, not only from the outside but also from the dugout roofs, the backstop and the corner walls, near the foul poles.

It is local, enduring and appealing.

Joe Mauer is all of those things, too. He was born and raised across the river, in St. Paul. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins out of high school, and he has never left. He is handsome and humble, a pitchman for shampoo and video games. His brother’s car dealership, Mauer Chevrolet of Inver Grove Heights, carries the slogan “Two Names You Can Trust.”

Yet the first season of Mauer’s celebrated eight-year, $184 million contract has been the most trying of his career. He missed two months with something called bilateral leg weakness, and only now has he started to hit like the three-time batting champion he is. The longtime catcher also is playing first base sometimes, and he has faced unusually heated scrutiny for a hometown hero.

“This has really been the first kind of bump where people have challenged a little bit of his character, which is wrong,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “They should never challenge his character, I don’t think, because what he does and what he stands for, he’s all about character.

“It’s good, though. It’s a good challenge. I think it makes you better.”

The problems for Mauer started in December when he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The Twins were dealing with seemingly more serious injuries — closer Joe Nathan’s recovery from reconstructive elbow surgery, first baseman Justin Morneau’s return from a concussion — and the Mauer news barely registered.

Yet the injury was alarming. Mauer, who turned 28 in April, is more than the face of the franchise; he is its future. As a Gold Glove catcher and an offensive force, his value could not have been much higher. The knee showed signs of early corrosion from the rigors of catching and, worse, he did not give himself enough time to recover.

“I kind of thought I was at a point where I could start the season and gain the strength that I needed to stay out there,” Mauer said. “Once the season started, it quickly went south.”

After nine games, he was hitting .235 with one extra-base hit, feeling uneven at the plate because of lingering weakness in both legs. At the same time he was going on the disabled list, Mauer was hospitalized with an unrelated viral infection. As he was unable to explain himself to the media, he said, his maladies seemed mysterious.

Teammates still say they do not really know what bilateral leg weakness means. And if they do not know, how could the public understand?

“When you don’t see him, a lot of the injuries get lost in translation,” said outfielder Michael Cuddyer, the Twins’ only All-Star this season. “It wasn’t really clear what was wrong with him, or what he was going through. Unless somebody sees you’ve got a broken leg or a torn hamstring or something like that, it’s hard for fans to relate to not getting out there and playing. I don’t think, still, anybody really knows.”

Morneau, like Mauer a former American League MVP, has not played since June 9 because of a ruptured disk in his neck. When Mauer came back, on June 17, he did not immediately offer to play first base.

Gardenhire said Mauer simply asked for a few days to regroup before taking grounders, which he had not done since playing a handful of games at first base in the minors. But the perception lingered that Mauer had waited too long to come back and was not a team player.

“Perhaps it’s time to ask Joe for some of those millions back,” read a headline on the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s website on June 27. The column, by Jim Souhan, called Mauer “the softest of stars,” scolded him for sitting out too many games and carried a comments section that ran overwhelmingly against Mauer.

Fans once pleaded for the Twins to keep him, dreading the notion of a big-market team stealing the local boy. But since he signed the contract in March 2010, Mauer said, some people view him differently. He must produce consistently, at a high level, to be loved.

“I’ve noticed it,” Mauer said. “Not necessarily pressure to perform, but you notice how people talk or treat you. There’s a difference. It’s pretty surprising, because I still view myself as a ballplayer. I work just as hard as I did. I’m trying to do the same things. It’s just a little different how people react.”

Mauer has batted around .350 this month, but he said he would not feel normal again until next season. He hit his first home run of the season last week, and he has hit just one in 96 career games at Target Field. He hit 28 homers in 2009, the final season at the Metrodome.

Gardenhire said Mauer would find his power as his legs got stronger. Even as a singles hitter, he is reliable, with a smooth swing that sprays balls to all fields. As the Twins try to chop an American League Central deficit that reached 161/2 games while Mauer was out, they must keep his bat in the lineup.

The best way to do it, while keeping his legs fresh and still using Jim Thome at designated hitter, is to play him at first base. Mauer did it four times last week, without an error.

“Definitely, it’s going to help him a lot if he’s able to play first,” said Detroit’s Victor Martinez, who has split time at the two positions for most of his career. “It’s a big break mentally and physically.”

Mauer’s body has told him he needs to ease up. But mentally, he said, he relishes being a catcher. He does not think along with the catcher while playing first — the position is still a bit foreign — but catching is part of his identity.

“I’ve kind of been in the middle of things ever since I was little,” Mauer said. “I was a point guard, and I was a quarterback. I always like to be making those decisions and trying to make a big difference on the outcome of the game.”

Mauer said he remained convinced that the Twins were at their best when he was healthy and catching. But he will play wherever Gardenhire asks, he said, for the good of the team.

And for all the millions the Twins will pay him, Mauer said, he will not change the bedrock of who he is.

“People around here know that I’m a Minnesota kid, I love to play baseball and I care about this community,” Mauer said. “I think some people think, ‘Oh, he signed this contract, he needs to do more, or do this.’ Well, I just need to be me and be the best player I can be. I don’t think I really need to change too much.”